Showing papers by "Shanghai Jiao Tong University published in 2006"
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between annual report readability and firm performance and earnings persistence and found that firms with lower earnings are harder to read (i.e., they have higher Fog and are longer) and positive earnings of firms with annual reports that are easier to read are more persistent.
Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between annual report readability and firm performance and earnings persistence. This is motivated by the Securities and Exchange Commission's plain English disclosure regulations that attempt to make corporate disclosures easier to read for ordinary investors. I measure the readability of public company annual reports using both the Fog Index from computational linguistics and the length of the document. I find that the annual reports of firms with lower earnings are harder to read (i.e., they have higher Fog and are longer). Moreover, the positive earnings of firms with annual reports that are easier to read are more persistent. This suggests that managers may be opportunistically choosing the readability of annual reports to hide adverse information from investors.
1,500 citations
TL;DR: Li et al. as mentioned in this paper examined whether ownership structure and boardroom characteristics have an effect on corporate financial fraud in China and found that the proportion of outside directors, the number of board meetings, and the tenure of the chairman are associated with the incidence of fraud.
865 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Oleic acid (OA)-coated magnetite nanoparticles of 7 and 19 µm were obtained by the seed-mediated high temperature thermal decomposition of iron(III) acetylacetonate (Fe(acac) 3 ) precursor method.
859 citations
TL;DR: Co3O4/BiVO4 composite photocatalyst with a p-n heterojunction semiconductor structure has been synthesized by the impregnation method and exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity for phenol degradation under visible light irradiation.
Abstract: Co3O4/BiVO4 composite photocatalyst with a p−n heterojunction semiconductor structure has been synthesized by the impregnation method. The physical and photophysical properties of the composite photocatalyst have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transimission electron microscopy (TEM), BET surface area, and UV−visible diffuse reflectance spectra. Co is present as p-type Co3O4 and disperses on the surface of n-type BiVO4 to constitute a heterojunction composite. The photocatalyst exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity for phenol degradation under visible light irradiation. The highest efficiency is observed when calcined at 300 °C with 0.8 wt % cobalt content. On the basis of the calculated energy band positions and PL spectra, the mechanism of enhanced photocatalytic activity has been discussed.
820 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the definition and benefits of combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) systems are clarified; then the characteristics of CCHP technologies, especially technical performances, are presented, as well as the status of utilization and developments.
744 citations
TL;DR: A genetic etiology for HSE is elucidated in two children with autosomal recessive deficiency in the intracellular protein UNC-93B, resulting in impaired cellular interferon-α/β and -λ antiviral responses.
Abstract: Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) encephalitis (HSE) is the most common form of sporadic viral encephalitis in western countries. Its pathogenesis remains unclear, as it affects otherwise healthy patients and only a small minority of HSV-1-infected individuals. Here, we elucidate a genetic etiology for HSE in two children with autosomal recessive deficiency in the intracellular protein UNC-93B, resulting in impaired cellular interferon-alpha/beta and -lambda antiviral responses. HSE can result from a single-gene immunodeficiency that does not compromise immunity to most pathogens, unlike most known primary immunodeficiencies. Other severe infectious diseases may also reflect monogenic disorders of immunity.
693 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the expression of mSOD1G93A results in activated and neurotoxic microglia, and suggested that the lack of m SOD1 G93A expression inmicroglia may contribute to motoneuron protection, and confirmed the importance of microglio as a double-edged sword.
Abstract: The most common inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease affecting adult motoneurons, is caused by dominant mutations in the ubiquitously expressed Cu2+/Zn2+ superoxide dismutase (SOD1). Recent studies suggest that glia may contribute to motoneuron injury in animal models of familial ALS. To determine whether the expression of mutant SOD1 (mSOD1G93A) in CNS microglia contributes to motoneuron injury, PU.1−/− mice that are unable to develop myeloid and lymphoid cells received bone marrow transplants resulting in donor-derived microglia. Donor-derived microglia from mice overexpressing mSOD1G93A, an animal model of familial ALS, transplanted into PU.1−/− mice could not induce weakness, motoneuron injury, or an ALS-like disease. To determine whether expression of mSOD1G93A in motoneurons and astroglia, as well as microglia, was required to produce motoneuron disease, PU.1−/− mice were bred with mSOD1G93A mice. In mSOD1G93A/PU.1−/− mice, wild-type donor-derived microglia slowed motoneuron loss and prolonged disease duration and survival when compared with mice receiving mSOD1G93A expressing cells or mSOD1G93A mice. In vitro studies confirmed that wild-type microglia were less neurotoxic than similarly cultured mSOD1G93A microglia. Compared with wild-type microglia, mSOD1G93A microglia produced and released more superoxide and nitrite+nitrate, and induced more neuronal death. These data demonstrate that the expression of mSOD1G93A results in activated and neurotoxic microglia, and suggests that the lack of mSOD1G93A expression in microglia may contribute to motoneuron protection. This study confirms the importance of microglia as a double-edged sword, and focuses on the importance of targeting microglia to minimize cytotoxicity and maximize neuroprotection in neurodegenerative diseases.
687 citations
TL;DR: A key function for APPL1 in adiponectin signalling is demonstrated and it is demonstrated that this protein acts as a critical regulator of the crosstalk between adiponECTin signalling and insulin signalling pathways.
Abstract: Adiponectin, also known as Acrp30, is an adipose tissue-derived hormone with anti-atherogenic, anti-diabetic and insulin sensitizing properties. Two seven-transmembrane domain-containing proteins, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, have recently been identified as adiponectin receptors, yet signalling events downstream of these receptors remain poorly defined. By using the cytoplasmic domain of AdipoR1 as bait, we screened a yeast two-hybrid cDNA library derived from human fetal brain. This screening led to the identification of a phosphotyrosine binding domain and a pleckstrin homology domain-containing adaptor protein, APPL1 (adaptor protein containing pleckstrin homology domain, phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain and leucine zipper motif). APPL1 interacts with adiponectin receptors in mammalian cells and the interaction is stimulated by adiponectin. Overexpression of APPL1 increases, and suppression of APPL1 level reduces, adiponectin signalling and adiponectin-mediated downstream events (such as lipid oxidation, glucose uptake and the membrane translocation of glucose transport 4 (GLUT4)). Adiponectin stimulates the interaction between APPL1 and Rab5 (a small GTPase) interaction, leading to increased GLUT4 membrane translocation. APPL1 also acts as a critical regulator of the crosstalk between adiponectin signalling and insulin signalling pathways. These results demonstrate a key function for APPL1 in adiponectin signalling and provide a molecular mechanism for the insulin sensitizing function of adiponectin.
630 citations
TL;DR: Results indicate that TDR is a key component of the molecular network regulating rice tapetum development and degeneration, and two genes, Os CP1 and Os c6, encoding a Cys protease and a protease inhibitor, were shown to be the likely direct targets of TDR.
Abstract: In flowering plants, tapetum degeneration is proposed to be triggered by a programmed cell death (PCD) process during late stages of pollen development; the PCD is thought to provide cellular contents supporting pollen wall formation and to allow the subsequent pollen release. However, the molecular basis regulating tapetum PCD in plants remains poorly understood. We report the isolation and characterization of a rice (Oryza sativa) male sterile mutant tapetum degeneration retardation (tdr), which exhibits degeneration retardation of the tapetum and middle layer as well as collapse of microspores. The TDR gene is preferentially expressed in the tapetum and encodes a putative basic helix-loop-helix protein, which is likely localized to the nucleus. More importantly, two genes, Os CP1 and Os c6, encoding a Cys protease and a protease inhibitor, respectively, were shown to be the likely direct targets of TDR through chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses and the electrophoretic mobility shift assay. These results indicate that TDR is a key component of the molecular network regulating rice tapetum development and degeneration.
587 citations
TL;DR: It is shown in rice (Oryza sativa) with Boro II cytoplasm that an abnormal mitochondrial open reading frame, orf79, is cotranscribed with a duplicated atp6 (B-atp6) gene and encodes a cytotoxic peptide and plays an additional role in promoting the editing of atp 6 mRNAs, independent of its cleavage function.
Abstract: Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and nucleus-controlled fertility restoration are widespread plant reproductive features that provide useful tools to exploit heterosis in crops. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this kind of cytoplasmic-nuclear interaction remains unclear. Here, we show in rice (Oryza sativa) with Boro II cytoplasm that an abnormal mitochondrial open reading frame, orf79, is cotranscribed with a duplicated atp6 (B-atp6) gene and encodes a cytotoxic peptide. Expression of orf79 in CMS lines and transgenic rice plants caused gametophytic male sterility. Immunoblot analysis showed that the ORF79 protein accumulates specifically in microspores. Two fertility restorer genes, Rf1a and Rf1b, were identified at the classical locus Rf-1 as members of a multigene cluster that encode pentatricopeptide repeat proteins. RF1A and RF1B are both targeted to mitochondria and can restore male fertility by blocking ORF79 production via endonucleolytic cleavage (RF1A) or degradation (RF1B) of dicistronic B-atp6/orf79 mRNA. In the presence of both restorers, RF1A was epistatic over RF1B in the mRNA processing. We have also shown that RF1A plays an additional role in promoting the editing of atp6 mRNAs, independent of its cleavage function.
568 citations
TL;DR: There is a statistically significant association between ADHD and dopamine system genes, especially DRD4 and DRD5, and these findings strongly implicate the involvement of brain dopamine systems in the pathogenesis of ADHD.
Abstract: Molecular genetic investigations of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have found associations with a variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) situated in the 3'-untranslated region of dopamine transporter gene (DAT1), a VNTR in exon 3 of dopamine receptor 4 gene (DRD4) and a microsatellite polymorphism located at 18.5 kb from the 5' end of dopamine receptor 5 gene (DRD5). A number of independent studies have attempted to replicate these findings but the results have been mixed, possibly reflecting inadequate statistical power and the use of different populations and methodologies. In an attempt to clarify this inconsistency, we have combined all the published studies of European and Asian populations up to October 2005 in a meta-analysis to give a comprehensive picture of the role of the three dopamine-related genes using multiple research methods and models. The DRD4 7-repeat (OR=1.34, 95% CI 1.23-1.45, P= 2 x 10(-12)) and 5-repeat (OR=1.68, 95% CI 1.17-2.41, P=0.005) alleles as well as the DRD5 148-bp allele (OR=1.34, 95% CI 1.21-1.49, P= 8 x 10(-8)) confer increased risk of ADHD, whereas the DRD4 4-repeat (OR=0.90, 95% CI 0.84-0.97, P=0.004) and DRD5 136-bp (OR=0.57, 95% CI 0.34-0.96, P=0.022) alleles have protective effects. In contrast, we found no compelling evidence for association with the 480-bp allele of DAT (OR=1.04, 95% CI 0.98-1.11, P=0.20). No significant publication bias was detected in current studies. In conclusion, there is a statistically significant association between ADHD and dopamine system genes, especially DRD4 and DRD5. These findings strongly implicate the involvement of brain dopamine systems in the pathogenesis of ADHD.
TL;DR: The genome distribution of rice b HLH genes strongly supports the hypothesis that genome-wide and tandem duplication contributed to the expansion of the bHLH gene family, consistent with the birth-and-death theory of gene family evolution.
Abstract: The basic/helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and their homologs form a large family in plant and animal genomes. They are known to play important roles in the specification of tissue types in animals. On the other hand, few plant bHLH proteins have been studied functionally. Recent completion of whole genome sequences of model plants Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) and rice (Oryza sativa) allows genome-wide analysis and comparison of the bHLH family in flowering plants. We have identified 167 bHLH genes in the rice genome, and their phylogenetic analysis indicates that they form well-supported clades, which are defined as subfamilies. In addition, sequence analysis of potential DNA-binding activity, the sequence motifs outside the bHLH domain, and the conservation of intron/exon structural patterns further support the evolutionary relationships among these proteins. The genome distribution of rice bHLH genes strongly supports the hypothesis that genome-wide and tandem duplication contributed to the expansion of the bHLH gene family, consistent with the birth-and-death theory of gene family evolution. Bioinformatics analysis suggests that rice bHLH proteins can potentially participate in a variety of combinatorial interactions, endowing them with the capacity to regulate a multitude of transcriptional programs. In addition, similar expression patterns suggest functional conservation between some rice bHLH genes and their close Arabidopsis homologs.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the performances of optical millimeter-wave generation or up-conversion using external modulators based on different modulation schemes and found that the OCS modulation scheme has the highest receiver sensitivity, highest spectral efficiency and smallest power penalty over long-distance delivery.
Abstract: We have experimentally compared the performances of optical millimeter-wave generation or up-conversion using external modulators based on different modulation schemes. The generated or up-converted optical millimeter wave using the optical carrier suppression (OCS) modulation scheme shows the highest receiver sensitivity, highest spectral efficiency, and smallest power penalty over long-distance delivery. Moreover, the OCS modulation scheme has a simple configuration and low-frequency bandwidth requirement for both electrical and optical components. Employing an OCS modulation scheme, 16-channel dense wavelength-division multiplexing signals at 2.5-Gb/s per channel have been up-converted to a 40-GHz carrier simultaneously.
TL;DR: The feasibility of desiccant cooling in different climates is proven and the advantages it can offer in terms of energy and cost savings are underscored in this article, where some commented examples are presented to illustrate how the descant cooling can be a perfective supplement to other cooling systems such as traditional vapour compression air conditioning system, the evaporative cooling, and the chilled-ceiling radiant cooling.
Abstract: In this paper, the principles underlying the operation of desiccant cooling systems are recalled and their actual technological applications are discussed. Through a literature review, the feasibility of the desiccant cooling in different climates is proven and the advantages it can offer in terms energy and cost savings are underscored. Some commented examples are presented to illustrate how the desiccant cooling can be a perfective supplement to other cooling systems such as traditional vapour compression air conditioning system, the evaporative cooling, and the chilled-ceiling radiant cooling. It is notably shown that the desiccant materials, when associated with evaporative cooling or chilled-ceiling radiant cooling, can render them applicable under a diversity of climatic conditions.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the achievements gained in solid-sorption refrigeration prototypes since the end of the l970s, when interest in sorption systems was renewed.
TL;DR: A new TOPSIS approach for selecting plant location under linguistic environments is presented, where the ratings of various alternative locations under various criteria, and the weights of various criteria are assessed in linguistic terms represented by fuzzy numbers.
Abstract: The selection of plant location plays a very important role in minimizing cost and maximizing the use of resources for many companies. In this paper, a new TOPSIS approach for selecting plant location under linguistic environments is presented, where the ratings of various alternative locations under various criteria, and the weights of various criteria are assessed in linguistic terms represented by fuzzy numbers. To avoid complicated fuzzy arithmetic operations, the linguistic variables, which are represented by triangular fuzzy numbers, are transformed into crisp numbers based on graded mean representation. The canonical representation of multiplication operations on triangular fuzzy numbers is used to obtain the “positive ideal solution” and the “negative ideal solution”. The closeness efficient is defined to determine the ranking order of all alternatives by calculating the distance to both the “positive-ideal solution” and the “negative-ideal solution” simultaneously. Compared with existing fuzzy TOPSIS methods, the proposed method can deal with group decision-making problems in a more efficient manner. A numerical example of plant location selection is used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.
23 May 2006
TL;DR: This paper explores a complement approach that focuses on the "social annotations of the web" which are annotations manually made by normal web users without a pre-defined formal ontology, and shows how emergent semantics can be statistically derived from the social annotations.
Abstract: In order to obtain a machine understandable semantics for web resources, research on the Semantic Web tries to annotate web resources with concepts and relations from explicitly defined formal ontologies. This kind of formal annotation is usually done manually or semi-automatically. In this paper, we explore a complement approach that focuses on the "social annotations of the web" which are annotations manually made by normal web users without a pre-defined formal ontology. Compared to the formal annotations, although social annotations are coarse-grained, informal and vague, they are also more accessible to more people and better reflect the web resources' meaning from the users' point of views during their actual usage of the web resources. Using a social bookmark service as an example, we show how emergent semantics [2] can be statistically derived from the social annotations. Furthermore, we apply the derived emergent semantics to discover and search shared web bookmarks. The initial evaluation on our implementation shows that our method can effectively discover semantically related web bookmarks that current social bookmark service can not discover easily.
TL;DR: A review of the current research on the synthesis, properties, and environmental applications of nanoscale iron-based materials is reviewed and summarized in this paper, where different physical and chemical methods used for synthesizing nano-iron-based particles with desired size, structure, and surface properties are described.
Abstract: Due to their special properties, people have been increasingly interested in studying applications of nanoscale metal materials in environmental engineering. Literature about the current research on the synthesis, properties, and environmental applications of nanoscale iron-based materials is reviewed and summarized in this article. Different physical and chemical methods used for synthesizing nano-iron-based particles with desired size, structure, and surface properties are described. We also emphasize important properties of nano-iron-based particles, including the density and intrinsic reactivity of surface sites. These properties directly influence the chemical behavior of such particles and, consequently, affect their applications in water and wastewater treatment and in air pollution control. Environmental applications of nano-iron particles are discussed in detail, including removal of chlorinated organics, heavy metals, and inorganics.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a simple rational model to highlight the effect of investors' participation costs on the response of mutual fund flows to past fund performance by incorporating participation costs into a model in which investors learn about managers' ability from past returns.
Abstract: We present a simple rational model to highlight the effect of investors' participation costs on the response of mutual fund flows to past fund performance. By incorporating participation costs into a model in which investors learn about managers' ability from past returns, we show that mutual funds with lower participation costs have a higher flow sensitivity to medium performance and a lower flow sensitivity to high performance than their higher-cost peers. Using various fund characteristics as proxies for the reduction in participation costs, we provide empirical evidence supporting the model's implications for the asymmetric flow-performance relationship.
TL;DR: PEG-PHDCA nanoparticles with higher MePEG molecular weight and smaller particle size could achieve higher in vivo tumor targeting efficiency, according to the results of the present study.
TL;DR: Unmodified gold nanoparticles effectively differentiate unfolded and folded DNA, thus providing a novel approach to colorimetrically probe aptamer-based recognition processes.
TL;DR: In this paper, the precipitation sequence in a Mg-10Gd-3Y-0.4Zr (wt.%) alloy during isothermal ageing at 250°C has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy.
TL;DR: Clinical and pathological characterization of the human patients revealed the hallmarks of typical STSS, which to date had only been associated with GAS infection, and multiple lines of evidence confirmed that highly virulent strains of SS2 were the causative agents of both outbreaks.
Abstract: Background Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (S. suis 2, SS2) is a major zoonotic pathogen that causes only sporadic cases of meningitis and sepsis in humans. Most if not all cases of Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) that have been well-documented to date were associated with the nonSS2 group A streptococcus (GAS). However, a recent large-scale outbreak of SS2 in Sichuan Province, China, appeared to be caused by more invasive deep-tissue infection with STSS, characterized by acute high fever, vascular collapse, hypotension, shock, and multiple organ failure.
TL;DR: The ensemble classifier was formed by a set of basic classifiers, with each trained in different parameter systems, such as predicted secondary structure, hydrophobicity, van der Waals volume, polarity, polarizability, as well as different dimensions of pseudo-amino acid composition, which were extracted from a training dataset.
Abstract: Motivation: Prediction of protein folding patterns is one level deeper than that of protein structural classes, and hence is much more complicated and difficult. To deal with such a challenging problem, the ensemble classifier was introduced. It was formed by a set of basic classifiers, with each trained in different parameter systems, such as predicted secondary structure, hydrophobicity, van der Waals volume, polarity, polarizability, as well as different dimensions of pseudo-amino acid composition, which were extracted from a training dataset. The operation engine for the constituent individual classifiers was OET-KNN (optimized evidence-theoretic k-nearest neighbors) rule. Their outcomes were combined through a weighted voting to give a final determination for classifying a query protein. The recognition was to find the true fold among the 27 possible patterns. Results: The overall success rate thus obtained was 62% for a testing dataset where most of the proteins have <25% sequence identity with the proteins used in training the classifier. Such a rate is 6–21% higher than the corresponding rates obtained by various existing NN (neural networks) and SVM (support vector machines) approaches, implying that the ensemble classifier is very promising and might become a useful vehicle in protein science, as well as proteomics and bioinformatics. Availability: The ensemble classifier, called PFP-Pred, is available as a web-server at for public usage. Contact: lifesci-sjtu@san.rr.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available on Bioinformatics online.
TL;DR: The preliminary data suggest amiodarone combined with beta-blocker may be helpful in treating episodes of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia for patients with an unknown genotype and Quinidine proved to be efficient in prolonging the QT interval and rendering ventricularTachyarrhythmias non-inducible in patients with a mutation in KCNH2 (HERG).
TL;DR: The chaotic behaviors of the fractional-order Chen system are investigated and it is found that the lowest order for this system to have chaos is 0.3, which is the lowest-order chaotic system among all the found chaotic systems to date.
Abstract: In this paper we numerically investigate the chaotic behaviors of the fractional-order Chen system. A striking finding is that the lowest order for this system to have chaos is 0.3, which is the lowest-order chaotic system among all the found chaotic systems to date.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors numerically investigate the chaotic behaviors of the fractional-order Lu system and find that the lowest order for this system to have chaos is 0.3, which is the lowest-order chaotic system among all the found chaotic systems reported in the literature to date.
15 Sep 2006-Materials Science and Engineering A-structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing
TL;DR: In this paper, the microstructural evolution in a Mg-15Gd-0.5Zr alloy during isothermal aging at 250°C, has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy.
Abstract: The microstructural evolution in a Mg–15Gd–0.5Zr (wt.%) alloy during isothermal aging at 250 °C, has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy. The decomposition of α-Mg supersaturated solid solution (S.S.S.S., cph) in the alloy with increasing aging time is as follows: β″ (D019) → β′(cbco) → β1(fcc) → β(fcc), which is similar to that of Mg–Gd–Y, Mg–Gd–Nd and Mg–Y–Nd alloys, but different from previously reported three stage sequence: S.S.S.S. → β″ (D019) → β′(cbco) → β(fcc). It is found that the metastable β″ and β′ phases coexist in the matrix at the very early stage of aging. Peak age-hardening is attributed to the precipitation of prismatic β′ plates in a triangular arrangement. At the over-aged stage, β1 phase appears to take place via an in situ transformation from a decomposed β′ phase but grows in a direction different from the previous one of β′ phase. Continued aging makes the β1 phase transform in situ to the equilibrium β phase and the orientation relationship between the precipitate and matrix phases is retained through the in situ transformation of the β1 phase.
TL;DR: Differences between developed/developing countries is summarized and key factors for a successful e-government implementation are identified and an implementation framework is proposed.
Abstract: Given the fact that more and more governments invest heavily in e-government design and implementation, e-government has become an evolving and important research area in the IS field. Most, if not all, currently published e-government strategies are based on successful experiences from developed countries, which may not be directly applicable to developing countries. Based on a literature review, this study summarizes differences between developed/developing countries. It identifies key factors for a successful e-government implementation and proposes an implementation framework. As a demonstration, we follow the guidance of the proposed framework in conducting a case study to analyze the implementation strategies of e-government in developed and developing countries.
TL;DR: In this article, an innovative technique of integration within an ordered product (IWOP) of operators was proposed, which made the integration of non-commutative operators possible and further revealed the beauty and elegance of Dirac's symbolic method and transformation theory.